Tail or controller for bombs.



R. K. ORTT.

TAlL 0R CONTROLLER FOR BOMBS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22. I918.

Patented Oct. 22, 1918" BOWLEY K. ORTT, F DIXON, ILLINOIS.

TAIL 0B CONTROLLER FOR BOMBS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22,1918.

Application filed June 22, 1918. Serial No. 241,426.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RowLEY K. On'r'r, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Dixon, county of Lee, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Tails or Controllers for Bombs, of which the following is a specification.

- other forms, constructions and arrangements within the s irit and scope thereof.

It is an object o ,my invention to provide bombs with im roved means for increasing the accuracy 0 such bombs in landing on the objective against which they are directed from the air craft, and for maintaining such bombs in proper position while dropping from the air craftto assure discharge or explosion of the bomb when it strikes the ground or other objective.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features in construction, and in combinations and arrangements as more fully and particularly set forth and specified hereinafter.

Referring; to the accompanying drawmgs L Fi e 1, shows in elevation a bomb rovide with my improved tail or contro ler.

Fig. 2, is a top plan. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section.

In the particular example illustrated, I

more or less dia rammatically illustrate a bomb 1 of any suitable type or construction adapted to be dropped from air craft against an objective'and provided with any suitable firing device designed to cause the bomb to explode when the objective is gained or when the bomb strikes the earth or any ob ect. For instance, I- show a firing pin or i 0t 2 at the front end or nose of the bomb esigned to be operated by impact to bring about the exploslon of the bomb.

In order to insure the landing of the bomb on its nose or in such other position as may be necessary to require such operation of the firing pin or other device as to cause the bomb to explode, and particularly to reduce to the minimum the curvature of the trajectory of the bomb in dropping from the air craft to the objective, I provide a peculiar bomb tail or controller.

' In the particular example illustrated, this tail consists of a straight shaft 3, at one end coupled to the rear end of the bomb by suitable coupling means, such as 4:, and at the opposite end having a propeller or fan of the required diameter or effective area, confined thereto to freely and concentrically rotate around said shaft as an axis.

The propeller consists of radiating uniformly-spaced similar fiat twisted or inclined blades 5 having transversely inclined or angularfaces and a center hub carrying said blades. The blades can be struck up or pressed from, a single piece of flat sheet metal so that the blades are integral with a flat center 6 having a center hole for the shaft. To the upper side of the flat center 6, a hub 7 is fixedly secured. The rear end of the shaft, if so desired, can have a tapered portion and a threaded extremity 8. The hub is concentrically fitted on said shaft end and is confined thereon against longitudinal movement therefrom by one or more nuts 9 on the threaded shaft end or in any other way or by any other means. Any suitable thrust as well as radial-thrust sustainin ball bearing 10 is arranged within the hu and interposed between the shaft and hub to permit free rotation of the propeller with the least possible friction.

When the bomb is dropped or discharged from the air craft, the downward movement of the bomb causes rapid rotation of the propeller and the sustaining surfaces or area thereof uphold the bomb in upright position through the -medium of the shaft and coupling to'the rear end of the bomb and the consequent drag on the rear end of the bomb, and yet the rapidly rotating propeller permits such rapid descent of the bomb as miy be required in practice.

rthermore, the propeller rotated at high speed by its passage through the air, tends to resist lateral movement of the bomb from theperpendicular and reduces the tendency of t e bomb to follow a curved path from air craft to objective when delivered from air craft moving at high speed. In other words the propeller coupled to therear end 0 the bomb by the shaft or other equivalent means, resists lateral movement of the bomb and constantly acts to hold the bomb to movement in a straight perpendicu-- lar path. from air craft to objective, with consequent accuracy in delivering the bomb fications, and variations might be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention and hence I do not wish ti. limit myself to the exact disclosures hereof.

What Iclaim is 1; A tail or controller for bombs, comprising afreely rotatabl propeller and its axis and means for loosely coupling the axis to the rear end of a bomb against relative rotary movement with respect to the bomb and so that the propeller will trail behind the bomb substantially as described.

2. A tail or controller for bombs, comprislng a shaft at one end formed for connection to the rear end of a bomb, and a propeller wheel confined on the opposite end' of said shaft to freely rotatewith respect thereto.

3. Means for the purposes substantially as described, comprising a shaft, a freely rotatable propeller wheel or fan loosely confined to said shaft, said shaft forming the fan axis and constructed and arranged for coupling to a bomb, and a radial and end thrust ball bearing between the fan and shaft. 1

4. Means for the purpose substantially as described comprising a shaft at one end formed and constructed for coupling to the rear end of a bomb, and a propeller or fan wheel freely rotatable on and confined to said shaft and embodying a hub and radiating blades having transversely inclined side faces.

on said shaft.

RQ W-LEY K. ORTT.

5. A bomb, in combination with a shaft 

